Page 1 - Sanger Herald 6-7-18 E-edition

Taft and Kings River graduate
Looking for a home
Athletes of the Year
page 8A
Lifestyles 2B
Sports 1B
THURSDAY
JUNE 7, 2018
VOL 129 NO. 23
2 sections, 14 pages
CLASSIFIED 3B LEGALS 4,5B BUSINESS DIRECTORY 6B LIFE STYLES 2B OBITUARIES 2A OPINION 3A SPORTS 1B POLICE LOG 2A WEATHER 8A
Weekly Newspaper
Council
will see
proposed
budget/s
A workshop will get the city council primed for another - probably hectic and hurried - budgeting process
Sanger (Fresno County) CA 93657 50¢ (tax included) Tassel turning time
Photos by Dick Sheppard/Sanger Herald
L-R, Mayra Fermin, Chloe Soto, Eileen Juarez and Alfredo Carnero, along with the other 103 members of the Sanger Adult School Class of 2018, move their tassels from right to left to ceremonially signify they have received their diplomas and are "officially" high school graduates.
By Dick Sheppard
Sanger Herald
It looks like the city council may be in for more of the same when it comes to the time it has to understand staff recommendations, make revisions and approve a spending plan for the next fiscal year.
The budget for the 2017- 2018 fiscal year wasn't ap- proved by the council until Aug. 3, 2017, more than a month after the start of the current fiscal year.
The council will get its first look this evening at the proposed spending plan for the 2018-2019 fiscal year, with only one more regular meeting scheduled before the start of the next fiscal year on July 1.
The council meeting
will go head to head with promotion ceremonies, one at Fairmont Elementary and another, expected to draw anaudienceofabout 5,000, for Washington Academic Middle School 8th graders, at Tom Flores Stadium.
That's likely going to cut down the size of the audience at city hall.
The workshop planned to start off this evening's 6 p.m. meeting will cover a budget summary of 67 pages.
The summary is for proposed budgets for fiscal years 2018-2019 and 2019- 2020, but the focus will be on the one beginning in just 23 days.
The plan for the current fiscal year projected an overall budget of $42 million with a general fund of $12.5 million. The general fund an- ticipated a surplus of $45,432 and the overall budget deficit
of $2.7 million.
An update of actual rev-
enue and expenditures for this fiscal year is part of this evening's workshop.
Councilmembers received the summary of proposed new budgets last Friday and have had about a week to look them over before the workshop.
The numbers in the sum- mary don't change much from year to year, with the general fund coming in at around $13 million and the overall budget, including enterprise funds hovering at around $45 million.
The proposed $12.7 million general fund budget covers day to day expenses and most of the wages and benefits, which make up almost three-quarters of the general fund budget.
Almost all of the money
to pay for general fund expenses comes from people who live in Sanger or who do business in Sanger: people who pay property, sales, util- ity, franchise and other taxes; buy licenses or permits; pay fines, recovery costs or ser- vice charges.
The remaining almost $34 million needed to cover the remaining proposed expens- es, outside the general fund, is from several special funds which are not supposed to feed into or take from the general fund.
"Enterprise" funds like water, sewer and disposal are supposed to be self sustain- ing. That is, revenue from each of those funds is sup- posed to be used to pay for the expenses in each of those funds and is not supposed to
See COUNCIL, page 7A
By Dick Sheppard
Sanger Herald
Not everyone could be there because of jobs and other commitments. But most of the 107 members of the Sanger Adult School graduating class of 2018 filed slowly - stepping to the rhythm
of the traditional "Pomp and Circum- stance" - into the high school multipur- pose room on May 31.
Women carried a single white carna- tion with a red ribbon tied to the long stem. Men had a carnation pinned to the left breast of their burgandy gowns.
The recorded music was frequently almost drowned out by shouts and ap- plause accompanied by wildly waving family members, camera flashes and swaying bouquets of helium filled bal- loons.
There were many animated, vocal youngsters in the audience, some the children, maybe grandchildren of graduates.
It was a very different group than the one will be this Friday in the Save Mart Center in Fresno when the Sanger High School Class of 2018 receives diplomas.
Several in that Friday group - Path- ways students - have already gradu- ated from junior college, many have academic scholarships to go on to major colleges and universities and some are moving on with athletic scholarships.
None in the Friday group are gradu-
ating in the same class as their mother, none have been in prison and none have grandchildren in the audience.
While the Friday Sanger High School group in the Save Mart Center has a lot to be proud of, it's not likely any more than the diverse, dedicated and disci- plined adult school group which turned tassels in the high school multipurpose room last week.
Mother and daughter graduates Dora Seiler and Angela Muao.
It was a family event.
In addition to the mother and daugh- ter graduates, Dora Seiler and Angela Muao, there were: sister graduates, Gou Khang and Sheng Yang; an uncle and
a niece Michael Gonzales and Maria Arciaga; cousins Jasmin Saldana, Erika Lopez and Mariah Loera; and an aunt Kayla Pico to cousins to Leonar Campu- zano and Kayla Pico.
Inspiring stories? Lots of them.
Catarina Morales, a happy and proud 49-year-old high school graduate.
Catarina Morales, a 49-year-old grad- uate, shared her story on TV and with Facebook friend Tony Cabrera, "I took to drugs at a young age and did things
I had no business doing to get them. I went on to worsen things. I spent five years in the Valley State Prison for women - worse place anyone could be. Along the way I had children - seven
to be exact, which I lost custody to all but one. But today my brother I've been clean seven years, been out of prison
See ADULT SCHOOL, page 7A
• June 7 - City council meeting, 6 p.m., city hall, 1700 7th Street.
• June 7 - WAMS Promotion Ceremony, 7 p.m., Tom Flores Stadium/Fairmont Promotion Ceremony, 7 p.m., 3095 N Greenwood Avenue.
• June 8 - Sanger High School graduation, 7 p.m., Save Mart Center in Fresno.
• June 9 - Hallmark promotion and graduation, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., Saroyan Theater.
• June 12 - School board meeting, 7 p.m., district office, 1905 7th Street.
Hurtado will challenge Vidak in November
Dick Sheppard/Sanger Herald
Melissa Hurtado, second from left, with supporters Flor Ayala, Sergio Garcia and Alondra Quintero at an elec- tion watch party at Me-n-Ed's on Jensen.
By Dick Sheppard
Sanger Herald
Melissa Hurtado of Sanger more than doubled the combined vote total of her two Democrat primary opponents to win the right to challenge Republican Andy Vidak for the 14th District State Senate seat in November.
California has a “top two” primary system, meaning Re- publicans and Democrats run together in the primary and the first and second place finishers go against each other in the general.
Gavin Newsom and John Cox
will run for governor. TJ Cox will will run against David Va- ladao in the 21st congressional district and Andrew Janz will challenge Devin Nunes for the 22nd congressional seat.
Four of five ballot measures: Natural Resources Bond; Trans- portation Revenue: Restrictions and Limits; Ballot Measures: Ef- fective Date; and, Property Tax: New Construction: Rain-Capture were approved. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Reserve Fund failed.
The reporter can be contacted by email at sangerherald@gmail. com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
SANGER HERALD: A MID VALLEY PUBLISHING NEWSPAPER • (559) 875-2511 • www.thesangerherald.com